Joanne O'Connell, Thursday January 24, 2008
Diet and exercise doesn't just boost your well-being - it can help get your finances into shape too. We show you how to feel healthier and wealthier
You may have a gym membership - but are you getting value for money? It doesn't matter how cheap your health club is - if you don't go there at least a couple of times a month, it represents money down the drain.
Many of us are losing out - research from price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com shows that more than one in eight adults rarely uses their gym membership. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the figure rises to one in five - and with the average membership fee at £80 per month, that means millions of us are wasting more than £960 a year.
Yet being healthy doesn't have to be costly. To help get us off our sofas, insurers are slashing the price of healthcare policies - and even offering free gym memberships to induce people to sign up. Find out how to get fit on the cheap.
Save on gym membership
A fitness regime can be expensive and gyms use all sorts of tactics to lure us into joining. Free sports kits, guest passes and beauty vouchers are standard inducements - but don't let a free gift persuade you to pay more than you need to.
You can cut the cost of admission if you're able to go at off-peak teams. Many gyms are also willing to negotiate joining fees. You could round up a few friends and for a group discount or perhaps get your boss to negotiate a reduced company rate for employees.
You can even join a gym for free. Many private healthcare policies offer memberships at reduced prices or even for free. PruHealth is currently offering discounted gym memberships for all its health insurance policyholders.
What's more, if you visit your gym twice a week or more, within three months you could soon be paying nothing at all. Gym memberships can cost as much as £80 per month but in contrast health policies start from as little as £20 per month - representing good value even if you don't actually want private medical insurance.
Get a great deal on private health insurance
Healthy diet
Your weight affects the price of your life insurance which means that healthy eating can lead to cheaper premiums. You don't need to go to extremes to see your costs fall - insurer L&G says simple changes such as eating breakfast, swapping to wholegrains, cutting down on salt and eating at least five fruit and veg portions a day can help keep diets healthy and premiums down.
Cutting down on booze can also help. The average adult in the UK drinks enough lager, wine, cider and spirits to add almost 3,000 calories to their weekly calorific intake, according to insurance giant Standard Life. Over the course of a year that represents a three stone weight gain.
Save on life insurance
The young, fit and healthy pay the least for life insurance policies. Yet while you can't do anything about getting older, you can look after your health.
You can qualify for cheaper premiums simply by being a non-smoker and maintaining a healthy weight level. If you don't, you could pay twice as much. Premiums are calculated according to body mass index (BMI) - a measure used to asses a person's shape and health.
Figures from protection specialists Lifesearch illustrate the potential savings available. A non-smoking man with a normal BMI can expect to pay around £13 a month for £100,000 worth of life cover over 25 years, according to Lifesearch figures - yet an overweight male smoker could pay as much as £39 each month for the same policy.
